Christmas Photo Shoot

Today I took the kids to Berry Patch Farms, a local berry farm that also is a Christmas tree farm.  We went there, not to get a tree, but to take our annual Christmas card photo.  Yes, I know I’m a little late, but they’ll go out this week!  Here are a few shots from today.  You’ll have to wait until you get your card to see the picture I chose for the card!

 

Of course, I had to get some photos of Reece & Bailey too!

 

Thanksgiving in The Villages

I thought I’d share a few photos that I like from our trip to Florida.

We saw the most amazing rainbow when we took the golf cart out to get the mail.  By the time we got back to the house to grab a camera, it had faded some.  When it was at it’s peak, it was so bright and you could see every shade of color in it.  We just couldn’t belive it!

Kathy & Bob’s neighborhood has it’s own resident birds!  Look at the color on their heads!

The Villages’ mascot is the buffalo.  They actually have a few herds that live on property. We never miss a chance to feed the buffalo carrots.  Here’s Jake, up close and personal with a buffalo.

Here’s the baby that was born this year.  Check out his tiny horns!

Here is the view from the boardwalk behind our hotel.

This picture came out pretty cool.  I was just experimenting with the camera angles.

Our last night out to dinner, at RJ Gators.

My new garden friend

This little froggy has made his home in our banana plant.  I heart tree frogs.  He’s only about the size of a nickel. 

Have I told you I like bees?

Drought resistant plants

This year, I unknowingly created a drought resistant mailbox planting!  While all of my neighbors mailbox gardens have withered and shriveled with the heat and the drought, mine looks great.  So, I thought I’d share what I used this year, as I’ll be planting the same ones next summer. 

In the back of the mailbox, I have Canna Lilies.  These come in bulbs or in pots and are perrenials, which means they come back every year.  They look great, but only one bloomed, since we didn’t have a lot of rain.  But, their foliage is pretty.  Climbing up the mailbox is a Clematis.  We’ve had this plant for a few years and it is so pretty in the spring.

I chose my annuals this year because they were in the “heat tolerant” section of Lowe’s.  The plant is called portulaca and it comes in many warm colors.  I chose a salmon color, a yellow, and a salmon and yellow mix.  I watered when I first planted them and maybe a few times in the next week or so, but I haven’t watered them since.  If you live in Ga, you know that we have hardly had rain all summer, so these are obviously very hardy and drought resistant.  They open up every morning and close again in the evening.  They have bloomed the entire summer. 

Here are some closeups of the portulaca flowers.  Aren’t they lovely?

Random Garden Photos

We are going to have beautiful Black Swallowtail butterflies soon!  Look at all the caterpillars!

 My Zinnia finally bloomed!  So pretty…

I love how my banana plant looks from above.

 

So, I’m a little weird…

Remember how I like to watch spiders?  I also like to watch bees.  Actually, I love to watch bees.  With a garden like mine, there are always bees.  There is one bee that has been coming back every single day to my basil plant. I don’t think he’s told his friends about it, because he’s the only one.  It must be quite tasty because I watch him every day.

 

I also like to watch caterpillars.  Not the nasty ones that turn into moths, but beautiful ones like the ones eating my parsley.  I did some research and they are the black swallowtail caterpillar, which will turn into a beautiful black and blue butterfly.  They only lay their eggs on plants in the parsley family.  The weird thing about this caterpillar, is when you pick him up, these orange antennae pop out…and they smell like paint!  They are actually scent glands that emit an odor to protect them.  The smell lingered for hours, so it worked! I won’t be picking them up again.  I had to move them because they were eating Dave’s carrot plants and he freaked!

 This is just a flower I love.

This bug kind of freaked me out…but not enough to stop me from getting really close to take a picture! It looked like a cross between a butterfly and a bee!

Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

Jealous much?

I guess Bailey gets her jealous streak from her daddy.  So, here you go, Dave!  I luv ya!